Worry

A newly qualified chartered accountant applies for a job advertised in the Times. He is interviewed by the owner of a small business who has built it up from scratch. "I need a qualified accountant," says the man, "but mainly I’m looking for someone to do my worrying for me." "How do you mean?" says the accountant. "I have lots of things to worry about, but I want someone else to worry about money matters." "OK," says the accountant. "How much are you offering?" "You can start on fifty thousand," says the owner. "Fifty thousand pounds?" exclaims the accountant, "How can a business like this afford to pay so much?" "That," says the man, "is your first worry."

Right.

Probability Problem from Gathering 4 Gardner

Someone you do not know tells you "I have two children, one of whom is a son born on a Tuesday." What is the probability that this person has two boys?

a) 1/2
b) 1/3
c) 13/27
d) Cannot tell from given information.

Answer.

Cause and Effect in a Single Frame

It never occurred to me that this broke any rules until this post pointed it out. Interesting how we can telescope it all into a single event.

All Streets

Ben Fry made a wonderful map of the United States by combining all the road maps for every county. Geographic features -- cities, rivers, mountains, shorelines -- emerge from the shapes of the roads.

Airless Tires

Want.

Tiny Art Director

Great blog about an artist and the comments his daughter makes about his art.

Photographing a analemma

Great picture with a multiple exposure that took over a year.

Keytar-Playing Platypus explained

Get it?

Vintage National Park Posters

Buy here.

Map Geek

Very cool interactive map of where people moved in 2008. Too cool.

New OK Go video

These guys are so on their game. One take, just like the Rube Goldberg video.

Another example of the 80-20 rule

More like a 90-10 rule, which is often true as well. Creators, Synthesizers, and Consumers. On an unrelated note, I'm guessing that creators are not as interested in iPads.

Daily Affirmation

How could you not have a good day if you tell yourself this every morning? It starts with "Look! I can be a shark!" and only gets better.

A Simple Business Plan

Seth Godin has a great take on a real business plan.

Market Forces in the Science Ph.D. Market

But unless the nation stops, as one Johns Hopkins professor put it, “burning its intellectual capital” by heedlessly using talented young people as cheap labor, the possibility of drawing the best of them back into careers as scientists will become increasingly remote. A nation that depends on innovation for its prosperity, that has unsurpassed universities and research centers, and that has long prided itself on the ingenuity and inventiveness of its technical elite, must devise ways of making solid careers in science once again both captivating and attainable.

Interesting article suggesting that there are plenty of people doing science in the U.S., but the market is pushing them elsewhere.

Intrinsic v. Extrinsic motivation

This researcher says it is an oversimplification to view motivation in this one (or two) dimensional way.

Thank you, Douglas Hofstadter

A Person Paper on Purity in Language, a classic essay by Douglas Hofstadter.

What a great arrangement

This is a great track from a wonderful singing group album by Red Hot & Blue from 1986. I had it on tape and wore it out. I'd pay $20 for the CD.

1001 Video Games to Play before you Die

I thought of this when I saw that (unlike Prince of Persia, which got the big-budget love), Every Day the Same Dream game is now a movie.

Lots of Movies

Big movie weekend last weekend --

1. Toy Story with the kids. Holds up well -- you wouldn't know it was already 15 years old. 5/5
2. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Went in with low expectations and was sorely disappointed even after awarding nostalga points. How do you top looking for the Holy Grail? You don't. 2/5
3. Big Fish. Stories that we tell that tell us who we are. Helena Bohham Carter is the perfect character for a Tim Burton movie -- lovely and strange at the same time.

Happy to be returning 3 red envelopes at the same time.

Time orientation

Great video on people who are past, present, and future oriented.

Just in time for summer

The race to create 100 proof beer.

Lunar Solar Array to meet Earth's energy needs

Japanese company that needs to try to think bigger.

Drive, by Daniel Pink

Great video about what motivates us. Quicker than reading the book.

Microsoft's fortunes under two CEOs

Thank you, Mr. Feynman

1:03 of Richard Feynman -- called a "Feynman Chaser."